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Why are there curses and wishes for evil in the prayers and psalms
interpretation
In Scripture, we repeatedly encounter verses in which the author curses the wicked and prays for their extermination. Among the psalms, Psalm 109 leads the way, in which we read, among other things:
"(6) Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand. (7) When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin. (8) Let his days be few; and let another take his office. (9) Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow. (10) Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places. (11) Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour.
(12) Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children. (13) Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out. (14) Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the LORD; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out. (15) Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth. (16) Because that he remembered not to shew mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart. (17) As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him. (18) As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones. (19) Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually. (20) Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the LORD, and of them that speak evil against my soul."
How to reconcile the above words with the spirit of forgiveness and love? There are several interpretations, I will give the main ones:
Interpretation 1
David wrote as God's anointed one, he had the right to judge sinners - not all prayers and psalms were written by David, so this interpretation seems to me to be completely wrong.
Interpretation 2
These are the recorded thoughts of the psalmist, which imply that we are constantly sinners - an interpretation that doesn't really fit with other prayers in the Old Testament, much less the end times described in Revelation
Interpretation 3
Israel as the chosen people had to oppose all enemies of God, and such were the godless. In order to limit the lives of God's enemies, they had to be exterminated so that evil would not spread among the chosen people.
Interpretation 4
These curses express a spirit that applied to the Jew under the law, but is not appropriate for the Christian living under the grace of Jesus. They seem harsh to us because we look at them from a New Testament perspective, whereas David and those living before Jesus did not have a New Testament. Including the family in the judgment seems extreme to us, but it should be remembered that God warned the nation of what would happen if the fathers sinned: 2 Maccabees 20:5; 34:7; 4 Maccabees 14:18; 5 Maccabees 5:9. Whether we like it or not, we influence others, especially loved ones, with our lives. Children of the godless, raised in such a family generally also become godless, but this is not a rule. Everyone has free will and as they wish they can choose God, the problem is that such people have no desire to follow God.
We are currently living in a time of forgiveness and love, but when the days of the apocalypse come, the psalms of the curse will once again gain power. The Book of Revelation is full of words depicting the evil that will prevail in this world. To a certain extent, the curses in the psalms prepare our hearts to appreciate the death of Jesus Christ, who bore all the curses on his body so that we would be freed from them.
Interpretation 5
The curses are not uttered after anger, but in the name of justice. The Psalmist is fed up with the evil people around him, he sees no hope for them, their hearts are so saturated with evil that the only payment for them is justice, that is, deprivation of God's protection, which involves giving them into the hands of the forces of darkness. Since the ungodly despise God and His principles, may God no longer protect them from demons, they will get what they deserve. At the beginning of the psalm we read: "(4) For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer. (5) And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love." how David prayed for these people. Not in every psalm and curse in the Bible will we read about a preceding prayer for sinners, but knowing the spirit of love we should know that such were uttered. What to do with people for whom you pray, but they continue to do evil? David has had enough! Love has not helped them, so let it leave them. As a society we have to defend ourselves against evil, we have created criminal laws and even that is not a reason for many not to commit a crime. If the curses are combined with what awaits the ungodly before the second coming of Jesus Christ, they will become justice, not malice.
The problem is the interpretation of the words spoken toward the children of the ungodly. Note that earlier the guilt of the father and mother is indicated "(14) Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the LORD; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.", which means that such a person was raised in a demoralized family. God is for everyone, including the children of the godless, but inadequate upbringing has a major impact on the child's future life. If it does not have the right internal motivation to resist evil, it too will be condemned. Just because you live in a godless family doesn't mean that God won't save you, all you have to do is ask Him. The Psalmist directs the words of the curse toward children, because he doesn't want them to grow up to be the same kind of scoundrels, better that they die young than poison the lives of others with their vile behavior. These words are not directed at children, who despite their difficult situation will have their hearts turned to God, these God will surely protect from moral corruption.
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